An attempt to discuss every single product available for the Dungeon Crawl Classics Role-Playing Game.

Monday, 25 July 2016

Bride of the Black Manse

DCC #82: Bride of the Black Manse, written by Harley Stroh and published by Goodman Games, is a fantastic piece of
work. In addition to the cover and cartography by the always stellar Doug Kovacs, there is interior art by Fritz Haas, Doug Kovacs, Peter Mullen,
Russ Nicholson, and Stefan Poag. The Russ Nicholson art is so amazing that I photocopied it to use as
visual handouts during the game.

Anyone familiar with the works of William Hope Hodgeson cannot help but feel his ghostly presence
invoked by this adventure. The PCs investigate a haunted house in a gothic tour-de-force which manages to be
genuinely creepy. Because the adventure is set up to play out in real time, and
the haunted house changes as midnight approaches, the players soon gain a real sense
of urgency. Fail to play that part as written, and you will do your players a
real injustice.

When I ran this at home, I used the set-up wherein the party
wizard, having been rejected initially by the archdevil Mammon, managed to
survive after his luck ran out. Marked by the evil being, he was drawn
eventually to the Black Manse, wherein the adventure unfolded. This adventure
definitely got high marks at our table, although the party skirted a full
understanding of the horrible choice illustrated on the adventure’s cover.

Centuries past, Lady
Ilse ascended to scion of House Liis by trading the archdevil Mammon what he
wanted most: her immortal soul – and a diabolical betrothal. The triumph proved
hollow, for every year on the eve of her fell covenant, she was beset by visions
of Mammon and her foul promise. Seeking to save herself, she was buried alive,
swaddled in the holy symbols of a dozen divergent faiths. This desperate ploy
held Mammon at bay for centuries…but a devil can afford to wait a very long
time.

After hundreds of
years, the last of the holy wards has fallen. The devil has come to collect his
due. Tonight a storm crashes against the ancient manor house and forgotten
spirits rise from the muck and mire. The fallen belfry tolls once more,
announcing the hellish fete. As the adventurers arrive to explore the Black
Manse, Mammon calls for his winsome bride. He will leave with a soul at the end
of the night. The only question is: Whose?

To say that Bride of the Black Manse is worth
the cover price is an understatement, but this module also includes Blood
for the Serpent King, by Edgar
D. Johnson. This adventure is a
short dungeon crawl in a steamy jungle, and sees the return of the Emerald Cobra from 3e version Dungeon
Crawl Classics modules.

Disclosure

This blog has now moved to the OneBookShelf affiliate system. So, if you follow a link from here to RPGNow or DriveTrhuRPG and then make a purchase within the next 15 days, 5% of the purchase price (minus gift certificates) will be credited to my account. It costs you nothing; you can consider it a tip. The link can be adjusted in your browser to remove the affiliate tag, if you so desire.